Cover Story
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sentiment we developed together, we were able to take the program to new heights and set a new standard for the teams that played after us in that gym. And because of our time together there, we continue to share a bond with one another that will last us all a lifetime.� It was 13 years later that another young player by the name of Jeremy Lin helped lead another Palo Alto basketball team that was steeped in those same values. Once again, an underdog Paly team rose up to claim the CIF Division II state title with a 5147 shocker over heavily favored Mater Dei. The Vikings went 32-1 that season, establishing a school record for most games won in a single season. Lin went on to star at Harvard University and now plays in the NBA for the Houston Rockets. Peter Diepenbrock coached the Vikings to that 2006 state title. “Obviously, having coached around 100 games in the gym, I have lots of very special memories,� he said. “But, my most special memories are the Gunn games and the playoff games. That is when the gym was full and had a classic high school atmosphere.� Diepenbrock said two games stood out for him, his first game against rival Gunn and his last
Palo Alto’s Keesean Johnson brings the ball upcourt during a game against Los Gatos, the final game of the regular season, on Feb. 21, 2014.
Many trophies line the display case by the doors leading to the Paly gym.
(NorCal) playoff game against Laguna Creek. “That first Gunn game was insane! It was the 1997-98 season, and we were in different leagues. We played them just the one time. We were up most of the game. Then at the end there was two seconds left and we were up 1 and shooting two free throws. We missed them both and, on the second miss, we fouled them going for the rebound! Then they came down and missed the free throw and then they tipped in the miss from 6 feet away as the buzzer went off to win by 1. “The roar from the Gunn crowd at that instant was the loudest I had ever heard at a basketball game in
complishments stretch beyond that. The Paly girls made some history, as well, in the sport. Under the guidance of coach Scott Peters, his 2011 team captured the SCVAL De Anza Division title with a 12-0 record (its first unbeaten record in that league) and won its first-ever Central Coast Section crown in program history with a victory — appropriately enough — over rival Gunn in the Division I finals. Basketball, of course, wasn’t the only sport played in the gym. Volleyball and wrestling had their moments, too. Two of the best wrestlers in U.S. history left their mark at Paly — Dave and Mark Schultz. Dave
my life. Just totally deafening!� Diepenbrock’s other memory involved the NorCal semifinal in 2006 against Laguna Creek. “The gym was totally packed full,� Diepenbrock recalled. “We were up 8 starting the fourth quarter. We were held scoreless for the first seven minutes and they tied it up. Then Jeremy (Lin) hit a clutch 3, as he tended to do, to win the game and the crowd went completely bonkers! I have always said that we would not have beaten that team on any other court. We needed every bit of that gym and that crowd to get that win.� While the Palo Alto boys won more than 1,000 basketball games over the life of their gym, the ac-
won the school’s first-ever state championship in 1977 and Mark followed a year later with one of his own. The two went on to win gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The girls’ volleyball program also brought two state championships to the school, in 2010 and ’11. The team went a combined 77-4 over those two seasons while achieving unparalleled success in program history. Kimmy Whitson was the starting setter both seasons and recalled what a special time that was and what the old gym meant to the athletes. “One of my favorite memories is winning the NorCal title
Paly gym timeline
Opening of the new Palo Alto High School takes place. The theater had no seats and doubled as a gym.
Dec. 24, 1918
Citizens overwhelmingly approve a $150,000 bond measure for Paly. Trustees select 1911 graduate and architect Birge Clark to design the remaining buildings in original plan, including the gym.
More than 2,500 people attend the dedication of the new gym and the first basketball game ever played there, against Sequoia. The gym was dedicated to coach and administrator George Stewart, a World War I veteran.
Clark begins drawing up plans for the gym, with construction to take place over the next year, approximately.
1923
George Stewart, the gym’s namesake, dies. ThenPaly Principal Ivan Linder said: “I have never had a student complain of unfair treatment by him. These students received from him a sort of fusion of affection and justice, a quality so rare that our language contains no name for it.�
1929
1938
Jan. 5. 1964
1967
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1978
1991
March 2
Palo Alto wrestlers Mark, left, and Dave Schultz later won Olympic gold medals.
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Clem Wiser (center) coached boys basketball from 1955-84.
1977
Clem Wiser, head basketball coach at Paly from 1955 to 1984 and athletic director from 1984 to 1990, is elected into the California Coaches’ Hall of Fame.
Palo Alto makes boys’ basketball history by completing a 31-0 season with a 79-59 upset of Morningside in the CIF Division III state championship game at the Oakland Coliseum. Captain Dave Weaver scores 46 points against Los Altos during league play to set a stillstanding school record for a single game.
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Paly grad and architect Birge Clark designed the gym.
1953
Mark Schultz becomes the second Paly wrestler to win a state championship, following in his brother’s footsteps while winning at 154 pounds.
Dave Schultz becomes the first Palo Alto wrestler to win a state title by taking the 162pound division.
The Harlem Globetrotters, then known as the Harlem Stars, play in the gym against the Palo Alto All-Stars, a team made up of “ex-basketball greats since 1959.�
The Viking becomes the school mascot.
April, 1928
In the 1967 SPAL Championship game, Mark Daley (‘68) makes two free throws in the final minute to win the game 70-68 against the Sequoia Redwoods. The season is one of Coach Clem Wiser’s best, finishing 27-2.
Coach John Barrette led the boys basketball team to state championships in 1993.